Match rates are critical to maximizing the effectiveness of your digital campaigns. Once you’ve decided on who you want to target, you’ve got to  reach as many of them as effectively as possible with the right media.

But before you get bogged down in match rate discussions, the more important strategic work needs to have been done up front. Have you (or somebody):

• Defined the universe precisely?
• Segmented the universe into MECE groups?
• Estimated LTV/CLV for those segments and, therefore, the allowable?
• Decided which segments to select, suppress, and ignore?
• Developed messaging for each segment, including pricing and offer?
• Selected media appropriate to each segment, considering all media types?

If you haven’t, the match rate to your onboarder or from your onboarder to DMP or DMP to publisher won’t matter one bit. You’ll be going after the wrong people, without a proper strategy and—by definition–with incorrect tactics.

If you’re a digital marketing manager and have been given targets to go after, ask questions. Be convinced that somebody did the work before you get into the detailed channel-level tactics. Same thing if you’re an agency. Ask questions about that brief.

Once the strategic work has been done, then worry about match rates. A good article to help you think about match rates is here.

And what’s the best key on which to base all your marketing strategy, including digital? It has nothing to do with cookies, device IDs, pub IDs or any of that. It’s good old name and address.

Takeaway: Never delve into tactics without understanding the mission and the strategy to accomplish the mission. And win.